Chapter 3

The sound of the shower stopped.

Without giving anything away, I put the phone back where it had been.

A minute later, Audrey wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. Her damp hair brushed against my back as she pressed herself against me like a cat seeking affection.

"Sam, did you miss me?"

Still holding my waist, she slipped around me and nestled into my arms. Her warm breath fell against my neck, leaving my skin damp.

She looked up. Desire now colored her clear eyes, their outer corners faintly red.

When I didn't respond, she gave my chin an irritated little nip.

I braced my hands against her shoulders. My voice was completely flat. "How much are you planning to pay me each time?"

She froze. Her delicate brows drew together as she pulled away from me. "What are you talking about? Sam, how can you degrade yourself like that?"

I straightened my pajamas and slowly sat up against the bed, my expression calm. "Isn't that what you're planning? Ms. McMillan, we do have a child together. How exactly are you planning to cut me loose?"

The desire vanished from Audrey's eyes. It took her only a few seconds to figure it out. "You looked through my phone?"

I admitted it without hesitation, "I did. And everything else you've been hiding from me too. I saw all of it.

"I only want to ask you one thing. If you're so rich that you want for nothing, why did you use the money in that account to buy him a piano? Those were my only savings. You knew that."

Audrey leaned against the bed, her expression dark. She clearly didn't like the feeling of things slipping beyond her control.

"I owed him that too. He was devastated when he found out I'd married you. I had to compensate him somehow.

"The only thing that would make him feel better was seeing you suffer a little. You're a man too. You should understand that feeling, shouldn't you?"

At that moment, every disguise fell away. I couldn't see a trace of the Audrey I'd known. She gripped my chin, her eyes filled with contempt and mockery.

"It's just money. If it bothers you that much, I can give you three times as much. Ten times as much.

"But... I hate people going through my things without permission. Samuel, I thought you'd be obedient. Apparently, I overestimated you. I was going to give you some time to adjust, but you brought this on yourself."

She got out of bed, took out her phone, and called someone.

An hour later, two documents were delivered to her.

"Sign it. After the divorce, I get custody. You can see Annie once a month, but only if you move into the house I've prepared for you in the suburbs.

"Sam, even after you did something I hate this much, I still can't bear to let you leave my side. This is how it will be. The three of us never have to be apart."

Her tone was calm, yet there was an unmistakable threat beneath it.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You want me to be your secret lover? Audrey! How can you do something this cruel?"

She knew my father had cheated when I was a child and abandoned my mother and me. She knew there was nothing I hated more than people who were unfaithful.

Lying to me wasn't enough. She actually wanted to humiliate me like this too.

How could she be so shameless?

She smiled silently, as if mocking my naïveté.

Then she slowly bent down in front of me, pity and regret in her eyes, her voice like a devil's whisper.

"What else did you expect? With someone of your status, did you really think you could marry me? Stop dreaming, Sam. Just sign it. Other people would beg for an arrangement like this.

"Or sign this one instead. I'll give you five million dollars, but you'll never see Annie again for the rest of your life.

"The choice is yours."